Charlotte is home

Charlotte is home! For more pictures of her, check our Flickr page:

http://flickr.com/gp/34424252@N07/3A3bSr/

Charlotte Debra

Charlotte Debra! from Thomas on Vimeo.

 Our baby Charlotte Debra was born this morning at 5:39 am. She weighs 7 lbs 2 oz and is 20 in long. As you can see, she has lots of hair! Erin's water broke at 7:45 pm last night while we were in Bountiful, so we hurried down to Orem and started the process of delivery. At 5:30 this morning, the nurses came to check on Erin and discovered that Charlotte was coming. Nine minutes and one push later, she was out! Erin and Charlotte are doing great. More pictures and video to come.

Catching Up

We spent a good portion of the day yesterday visiting cemeteries to remember our ancestors:

Thomas' Grandma Cook

Thomas' Grandpa Grover

Jacob and Elle's Cousin Emily

Erin's Great Grandpa Bastian

We also spent some time at the zoo:

Elle loves riding the carousel

Jacob insisted on riding by himself

Earlier this month, we celebrated Elle's birthday:

Our adorable birthday girl!

Elle was gifted a Dora doll, her favorite

Elle had a great time at party

Jacob and Elle enjoying their camp chairs

Yellowstone, Day 1

We decided to take one last vacation before summer ended, so we loaded up the van with the family (and Grandpa Tom and Grandma Charlotta) and headed up to Yellowstone for Labor Day weekend.

 We booked the same motel room that we used to stay at when Thomas was a kid.

 

Jacob and Elle (go Cougars!) enjoyed playing with the lava rocks in front of the room.

 

We were able to go into Yellowstone for about 30 minutes on Friday. Jacob was interested in both the elk across the Madison River, and throwing wood into the river.

Elle wanted to be walking around instead of being held in Erin's arms for the picture.

More pictures to come after our adventures today!

Not to be forgotten

 

 Jacob recently visited the ocean (Pacific) for the first time. He couldn't stop giggling with delight as the waves chased - and sometimes caught - him.

Jacob and Erin get to spend a lot of time together. Recently, they had the following conversation:

Jacob: "Mom, don't drive. Dad's gonna drive."

Erin: "Okay, we'll let Dad drive. He's a good driver."

Jacob: "Dad is a CRAZY driver."

Jacob is also a great older brother to Elle. He calls her names such as "Ellsers, "Elsie," and "Elsie Bells." He includes her (most of the time) when he builds a fort out of the sofa cushions, or when he is wrestling with Dad.

Inquisitive, logical, thoughtful and serious, Jacob naturally and quickly figures things out. We are frequently surprised to hear the mature thoughts and sentences that he shares with us. With his large vocabulary and physical size, you would think he's older than two-and-a-half years.

Describe Jacob in two words? Precocious and fun.

One year ago ...

Elle came into this world with a full head of red hair.

And stunning blue eyes.

 

 She almost fit in her mother's hands (she's still small).

She hasn't always slept like this, but she's become a good sleeper. 

She's our perfect little treasure.

Elle is 1!

Our beautiful daughter Ellenor Jane turned one-year-old today. It's remarkable how different she is from Jacob, but she fills our home with joy, just like her older brother. Her happiness is infectious, and she has an expression for every occasion. You can't help but feel good when you are around her.

She is by far the more inquisitive of our two kids. She loves to pull things out of any drawer, cupboard, lazy susan, garbage can, or shelf that is at her level. She covers more ground crawling, and at a quicker rate, than most toddlers do walking. She gets her groove on whenever we have music on, and in true Bastian spirit she always wants to be where the party is.

Elle can play on her own, but she loves to be close to Mom, Dad and Jacob. We love being close to her too.

Happy Elle

We captured this small clip of Elle and her happiness. Elle enjoys being involved with whatever the family is doing, and often has a smile to share. Happy six months to her this week.

Teaching

I am grateful to be substitute sunday school teacher at church because it is so humbling. I enjoy preparing and searching the scriptures in a very focused way. And then I enjoy realizing how much I have to learn about the gospel and teaching.

Sisters

Today I am sick so this is going to be short with no pictures. I am grateful today for the multitude of sisters in my life. I was lucky enough to be born in to a family with 6 sisters (5 by birth and 1 by marriage, my brother has really good taste). They have all turned out to be amazing women. I look up to them in their efforts to raise righteous families and develop their talents. They are my dear friends. I just wish I lived closer to at least 1 of them so I could see them more often!

I was also lucky enough to marry into 5 more sisters. I can't be close to my immediate family but I'm so grateful to live near these amazing women who have blessed my life in so many ways. They really have become my sisters and I have so much fun getting together with them. They bless the lives of my family soooo much on a daily basis.

You are Special

This is what Thomas' shirt says in the picture but it's hard to see it on the duct tape. He is jumping out of the box for a friend's birthday party in our singles ward. I love this picture.

Today I'm grateful for Thomas. He is my best friend and most loyal companion. I love him more every year. Thomas is a wonderful husband and father and he's mine forever. I look back at our almost six years together and get excited for our future since we have had a pretty great ride so far. Everyday is sweet with this man.

Already Late

Day number 2 and I'm already posting late. That's a bad sign. Today I'm thankful for healthy kids. Elle started throwing up last night. Luckily it didn't last too long so hopefully it's a short illnesss. Generally our kids have been really healthy and I'm grateful for it!

And just because she's cute too

Elle has decided to be an aerobics instructor when she grows up. She has even been waking me up several times a night for a workout. What a slave driver. Of course being the accommodating parents that we are, we hooked her up with the appropriate attire for Halloween.

A month of gratitude

It's amazing, I know, but I'm planning on posting every day this month. It's penance for not posting for so long. It's going to be a month of gratitude so everyday I will share something for which I'm grateful.

Today I'm grateful for the forgiveness of little children. Have you ever had a day as a mother you wish you could rewind and start over? I handled an incident with Jacob poorly today and I have been feeling sad about it ever since. Does he even remember it? No, no he doesn't. But I do and I'm grateful he is so willing to forgive me when I make mistakes as a mother.

I love this little guy.

Out of Hibernation

We thought we would let you know that we are still here. We hope you enjoy this video of Jacob in his Halloween costume with his aunt Amelia.